Major League Soccer’s worst defensive team, the Montreal Impact, announced the signing late Thursday of one of the sport’s most revered defensive players, Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Nesta. The 36-year-old, who split his 20-year Serie A career between Lazio and AC Milan, will be eligible to play for Montreal once his paperwork clears.

He will not be a designated player. Club officials said Thursday that the deal would run through the 2013 season.

The Montreal Impact, announced the signing late Thursday of one of the sport’s most revered defensive players, Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Nesta. (AP Photo)

"Despite some offers to continue my career in Europe, I was looking for a new challenge and wanted to play in MLS,” Nesta said. “Upon visiting my friend Marco (Di Vaio, the newly acquired Impact forward) to see him play his first game with Montreal, I met great people in this club. I really liked what I saw and I was convinced Montreal was where I wanted to be.”

The expansion Impact have yielded a league-high 35 goals this season, including nine in the past three games.

"It's an incredible opportunity for our club to add a defender of his talent," coach Jesse Marsch said. "We are very anxious to get him into our lineup because he will make us better on every level."

Nesta, from Rome, played in nearly half of Milan’s Serie A games last season and was a regular during the Rossoneri’s UEFA Champions League campaign, which ended with a quarterfinal defeat by Barcelona. He’s won everything there is to win at the club level, including two European crowns and one world title, and has played 78 times for the Italian national team, lifting the World Cup in 2006.

"Alessandro will bring a lot of leadership qualities through his different experiences, and will be a great mentor to our young players. To have him around the team and on the field will help the club as a whole,” Impact sporting director Nick De Santis said.

Nesta will be the fourth Italian on the Impact roster, joining Di Vaio, defender Matteo Ferrari and forward Bernardo Corradi. The club is owned by Joey Saputo, whose family founded the Saputo dairy processing company. The Saputos have roots in Palermo, Sicily.

Nesta, a central defender, will wear No. 14 for Montreal, which hosts the Columbus Crew on Sunday.